Hindalco Q1 net up 12% at Rs 474 crore

Mumbai: Hindalco Industries Tuesday reported an 11.61 percent growth in standalone net profit to Rs 474 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, largely due to an increase in other income.

The flagship firm of the Aditya Birla group had posted a profit of Rs 424.77 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the company said in a BSE filing.

Hindalco said it is re-evaluating the investment strategy for the Aditya alumina refinery in Odisha and the Jharkhand aluminium projects due to "delays in getting various regulatory approvals and the current uncertain economic environment."

Net sales fell 3.31 percent to Rs 5,766.69 crore, mainly due to an 8.46 percent decline in revenue from the copper business (at Rs 3,635.77 crore). The company said revenue was impacted due to lower copper production as one of its smelters went for a planned shutdown.

Revenue from the aluminium business was up 7.2 percent at Rs 2,211.14 crore.

Lower prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) affected revenue of the aluminium business, though the depreciating rupee helped to partially negate the impact, Hindalco said.

"Q1FY14 performance was achieved despite adverse macro-economic headwinds. The average aluminium LME dropped around 7 percent from the levels seen in Q1FY13. This sharp fall was partially cushioned by depreciating rupee," it said, adding that total aluminium output was 139 kilo tonnes (KT).

Other income rose 41.97 percent to Rs 427.94 crore. According to Hindalco, it included non-recurring income of Rs 103 crore and dividend of Rs 100 crore from a subsidiary.

Finance costs rose over 82 percent to Rs 148.72 crore due to higher average borrowings in the quarter.

During the quarter, first metal was tapped at the Mahan aluminium smelter in Madhya Pradesh, while the 1.5 million tonne Utkal alumina refinery went on stream. The company is in the advanced stages of completing the Aditya aluminium smelter in Odisha.

Hindalco said its current focus is on ramping up new projects that are already on stream. Depressed LME prices, in an otherwise inflationary scenario, pose a significant challenge.

Following the results, Hindalco shares fell 2.45 percent to Rs 91.45 at the close on the BSE.